The present invention relates to an apparatus for regulating air and removing contaminants from air discharge vents, such as those used for air conditioning or heating systems.
Central heating and air conditioning systems typically include ducts to distribute processed (heated or cooled) air. These ducts distribute heated or cooled air from the source units (either a heater or air conditioner). In many office buildings and similar environments, the ducts are positioned above suspended ceilings and are configured to discharge the treated air through spaces that would otherwise be filled with removable ceiling panels.
Vents or grilles of various configurations may be positioned at these discharge xe2x80x9cpanelxe2x80x9d locations. Much of the background and relevant problems associated with those vents or grilles are discussed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,975 for AIR FLOW CONTROLLER FOR HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING VENTS.
Although my invention of U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,975 addresses many of the shortcomings of the prior art, further refinements and other approaches discussed below provide alternatives that may be beneficial in some or many installations.
In addition, even for systems that may provide some airflow adjustability for the convenience and comfort of the occupants, most discharge vents do not have air filters to filter out dust, bacteria or other contaminants. Where filters are used, it is more common to find them on air returns or air handlers, which typically feed air to the intake side of air conditioning or heating units. While such filtering is helpful, the filters sometimes can be difficult to service and in any case cannot do anything to reduce contamination that may exist or be generated within the ducting system itself. Thus, dust or other contaminants in the duct or generated by the heater/air conditioner are commonly blown onto occupants or back into the buildings, rather than being filtered out.
Part of the problem associated with air ducts relates to moisture that occurs naturally as part of the heating/air conditioning process. Typically in air conditioning systems, when air is cooled, some of the moisture condenses along the walls of the ducts. That moisture not only causes dust and other things to accumulate along the ducts, but permits and enables microscopic growths to appear and accumulate (such as mildew, fungus, bacteria and other microbial particles). The typical air filter at the system return/intake does nothing to stop the system from blowing these potentially harmful microbes onto occupants of the building.
Warren Technology""s Uni Guard(trademark) individual room air filtration system addresses some of those concerns but has several shortcomings. Among other things, its diffuser provides a limited range of control flexibility, and replacing its filter typically requires removing one or more adjacent ceiling tiles, which typically is at least somewhat inconvenient and time consuming.
My U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,975 likewise addresses some of the foregoing issues, but is somewhat limited as to the xe2x80x9cdegreexe2x80x9d of airflow control it provides. Moreover, it does not address the contaminants issue.
Other prior art patents (such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,243 to Lambert, U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,667 to Lambert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,828 to Grant, U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,687 to Grant, U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,183 to Lynch, Reissue patent 30953 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,513 to Noll et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,253 to Faith et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 3,699,871 to Larkfeldt) have similar shortcomings. In addition, the devices in those patents typically are not easy to install or easy to use, and commonly are more expensive to produce and/or install and maintain. In addition, they do not teach nor contemplate using filter elements.
An effective solution should not only address the foregoing flow and contaminants issues, but should also be easy to use and replace, be reasonably priced, and be provided for both retrofits and new installations.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved air flow controller for heating and air conditioning vents.
It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide a vent with multiple flow paths wherein each individual flow path may be separately regulated.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an air flow controller with vent flow paths that are easy to manipulate.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a vent with flow paths that can be adjusted from a distance when using a stick or similar reaching apparatus.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a vent with filter elements for removing contaminants.
A still further object of the present invention is the provision for allowing filter elements to be readily replaced, such as without having to move or remove any adjacent ceiling tiles.